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XL Center
The Mall
Location	One Civic Center Plaza Hartford, Connecticut 06103
Broke ground	1970s
Opened	January 9, 1975
Closed	1978-1980 (roof collapse, renovations)
Owner	City of Hartford[1]
Operator	Northland Investment Corporation/Anschutz Entertainment Group
Tenants
UConn Huskies (NCAA) (1980-Present) Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) (1997-Present) New England/Hartford Whalers (WHA/NHL) (1975-78, 1980-1997) New England Blizzard (ABL) (1996-1998) Connecticut Coyotes (AFL) (1995-1996) New England Sea Wolves (AFL) (1999-2000) Boston Celtics (NBA) (part-time, 1975-1995)
Capacity
Basketball 16,294 Hockey 15,635

The XL Center, formerly known as the Hartford Civic Center, is a sports and convention complex located in Hartford, Connecticut, USA owned by the City of Hartford and operated by Northland Investment Corporation/Anschutz Entertainment Group under contract with the Connecticut Development Authority. The arena is ranked the 28th largest among college basketball arenas. Originally located adjacent to a shopping mall (Civic Center Mall, which was demolished in 2004), it was originally built in 1975 and consists of two facilities: the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Exhibition Center.

Recently, the CDA debated who will run the arena from 2007-08 through 2012-13. The applicants were:

• Former Hartford Whalers owner Howard Baldwin and arena manager Global Spectrum
• Northland Investment Corp. and arena manager Anschutz Entertainment Group
• Madison Square Garden

On March 21, 2007, the CDA selected the Northland/Anschutz Entertainment Group proposal. It was revealed that Northland will assume total responsibility for the building paying for any and all losses, and will keep any profits.

In December 2007, the arena's naming rights were sold to XL Insurance.

Contents 1 The Veterans Memorial Coliseum 2 Exhibition center 3 Possible new arena 4 References 5 External links

The Coliseum--is the full-time home of the Hartford Wolf Pack AHL hockey team and part-time home of the University of Connecticut men's and women's basketball teams. It was the home of the New England Sea Wolves of the Arena Football League. It was also the home of the New England/Hartford Whalers of the WHA and NHL from 1975-1978 and 1980-1997 and the New England Blizzard of the ABL from 1996-1998, and hosted occasional Boston Celtics home games from 1975-1995. The arena seats 15,635 for ice hockey and 16,294 for basketball, 16,606 for center-stage concerts, 16,282 for end-stage concerts, and 8,239 for 3/4-end stage concerts, and contains 46 luxury suites and a 310-seat Coliseum Club, plus 25,000 square feet (2,300 m²) of arena floor space, enabling it to be used for trade shows and conventions in addition to concerts, circuses, ice shows, sporting events and other events.

As originally built in 1975, it seated 10,507 for hockey, and served as the home of the then-New England Whalers for three years. The roof collapsed during a heavy snowstorm in the early morning of January 18, 1978, causing serious damage to the seating bowl area. The building was heavily renovated and re-opened January 17, 1980.

In recent years, the arena has been upgraded with a new center-hung scoreboard with four Sony Jumbotrons and a state-of-the-art sound system. WrestleMania XI was held here, as were Survivor Series 1990, No Way Out 2000 and Vengeance 2004. The 1982 Big East Conference and 1988-1990 America East Conference men's basketball tournaments were also here. The Big East Conference women's basketball tournament is contracted to the coliseum through 2009, and it has hosted multiple NCAA women's basketball sub-regionals and regionals. The XL Center has held many notable concerts including Van Halen, U2, Elton John, Journey, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, & Phish. The Civic Center is the first stop on Bruce Springsteen's 2007 Magic tour, and it is also one of the few North American venues for the Genesis 2007 reunion tour.

The Exhibition Center consists of a 68,855-square-foot (6,397 m²) exhibit hall, a 16,080-square-foot (1,494 m²) assembly hall that can divide into two meeting rooms, plus seven meeting rooms totaling 7,390 square feet (687 m²) and two lobbies totaling 6,100 square feet (570 m²). It is used for trade shows, conventions, banquets, meetings and other events.

The surrounding shopping mall was torn down in 2004 and was replaced by street-level retail shops and a 36 story residential tower that opened in 2006. On December 18, 2007. an announcement was made that the Hartford Civic Center will undergo a name change. Effective immediately, the arena will now be known as the XL Center, thanks to a 6 year naming rights agreement with the XL Insurance company. http://www.hartfordwolfpack.com/press_20071218.php

With the XL Center approaching its 30th birthday leaders in Hartford have been considering whether it should be replaced with a new facility. Developer Lawrence Gottesdiener in 2006 discussed buying the Pittsburgh Penguins and moving them to a new Hartford arena, but that effort did not materialize.^[2] Since that time, Mayor Eddie Pérez and House Speaker James Amann have continued to investigate the feasibility of a new downtown arena.^[3]

1. ^ The Connecticut Development Authority- Opportunities for The Hartford Civic Center, p36
2. ^ Associated Press. "Developer wants to buy Penguins for possible move to Hartford.", The Boston Globe, The New York Times Company, 2006-04-07. Retrieved on 2007-02-14. 
3. ^ City of Hartford, Connecticut (2006-08-30). "OF HARTFORD SEEKS CONSULTANT TO ADVISE ON FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING NEW DOWNTOWN ARENA". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.

• XL Center
• Description of roof construction and causes of collapse

Preceded by Boston Garden 1972–1974	Home of the New England Whalers 1974–1978	Succeeded by Springfield Civic Center 1978–1980
Preceded by Springfield Civic Center 1978–1980	Home of the Hartford Whalers 1980–1997	Succeeded by Greensboro Coliseum 1997–1999
Preceded by New York CityHawks at Madison Square Garden	New England Sea Wolves of the Arena Football League 1999-2000	Succeeded by Toronto Phantoms at the Air Canada Centre
Preceded by Madison Square Garden	Host of WrestleMania XI 1995	Succeeded by Arrowhead Pond

v • d • e Current arenas in the American Hockey League
Eastern Conference	Arena at Harbor Yard · Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena · Cumberland County Civic Center · DCU Center · Dunkin' Donuts Center · GIANT Center · XL Center · MassMutual Center · Norfolk Scope · Times Union Center · Tsongas Arena · Verizon Wireless Arena · Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza · Wachovia Spectrum
Western Conference	Allstate Arena · AT&T Center · Blue Cross Arena · Bradley Center · Carver Arena · Copps Coliseum · i wireless Center · MTS Centre · Quicken Loans Arena · Ricoh Coliseum · Rockford MetroCentre · Toyota Center · Van Andel Arena · War Memorial at Oncenter · Wells Fargo Arena

v • d • e Current Basketball Arenas in the Big East

Alumni Hall (Providence women) •Allstate Arena (DePaul men) • Bradley Center (Marquette men) • Carnesecca Arena (St. John's) • Carrier Dome (Syracuse) • Dunkin' Donuts Center (Providence men) • Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati) • Freedom Hall (Louisville) • Gampel Pavilion (Connecticut) • Hartford Civic Center (Connecticut) • Joyce Center (Notre Dame) • Louis Brown Athletic Center (Rutgers) • Madison Square Garden (St. John's men) • McDonough Gymnasium (Georgetown women) • McGuire Center (Marquette women) • The Pavilion (Villanova) • Petersen Events Center (Pittsburgh) • Prudential Center (Seton Hall men) • Sullivan Athletic Center (DePaul women) • USF Sun Dome (South Florida) • Verizon Center (Georgetown men) • Wachovia Center (Villanova) • Walsh Gymnasium (Seton Hall women) • WVU Coliseum (West Virginia)

v • d • e WrestleMania venues
Allstate Arena • Caesars Palace • Citrus Bowl • Ford Field • Hartford Civic Center • Honda Center • Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena • Madison Square Garden • Nassau Coliseum • Pontiac Silverdome • RCA Dome • Reliant Astrodome • Rogers Centre • Safeco Field • Staples Center • TD Banknorth Garden • Trump Plaza • Wachovia Center